If you look at my Facebook profile, at times all I seem to be doing is watching movies or reading quotes. To be honest, most of the quotes I know come from movies. It’s embarrassing when having a conversation and some random movie quote comes out that makes complete sense in my head but nonsense to everyone else. Has that ever happened to you? At times, I speak in the language of movie…and most of them happen to be rated G.

Inspirational Movie – Robots

The movie in my life this time is the animated “Robots.” The quote was, “A dream that you don’t hunt down can haunt you for the rest of your life. It’s up to you….!” The two words that stick out the most for me both start with “h,” and are “hunt” and “haunt.”

HUNT – I don’t know how many of you have ever been hunting, but if you have, you know that hunt isn’t only about the kill. There is so much more involved in the experience. Here in Arizona, you have to get drawn first. Then there is preparation: Siting in your rifle, scouting the area you will hunt in, getting out your camping gear and making sure it’s in good shape, sharpen your hunting knife and make all the necessary arrangements for time off work. Much of the HUNT is getting to hang out in the mountains with some of your closest friends or family members.

The kill is just the icing on the cake, or the overall goal. It’s what you came for, but not the only thing you get. The Dream is also the icing on the cake but the experience of achieving it is what comes along with it.

HAUNT – I know we all have regrets. Can you imagine what life would be like without having a single regret? If we could all just live that “On Purpose.” Now maybe this isn’t true for you, but when you had the chance to say something to that girl you had a crush on in High School and you didn’t, or punch the school bully in the face just to teach him a lesson or take that shot in the last seconds of the big game……and you didn’t. How long will that haunt you? How long will it haunt you to not say, do or be all that you want to be?

For the rest of your life!

The truth is, the more you don’t do these things, the more insecure you become, the less experience you gain and the closer you get to being the victim instead of what you should be, the victor. Regardless of the outcome of your actions, whenever of virtue, you are still the victor….because you gain the experience. If the girl of your dreams says no, no loss. If you miss that shot, no loss. If you punch the bully in the face and get your butt kicked, painful, yet, no loss.

I would much rather make the move and lose than never make the move at all. Winning is just icing on the cake! At least I can look back and say that I had the guts to do it…and by making those kinds of decisions, I will win more than I lose.

What is the key to living a great life, full of accomplishment and joy, where everyday is a new adventure? Here’s a hint: By seeking after things that are praiseworthy, virtuous and of good report.

Living a life of true fulfillment is the only way to live, yet there are too many people in the world that confuse true fulfillment and accomplishment with giving into temptation. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” But I would like to add, you must be the change of good you wish to see in the world. Too many people are evolving into beings that are more carnal and primitive instead of what their true potential is. Their heritage, our heritage, is something much, much greater. Where we come from, where we began, should influence who we become. And I am not referring to our physical beginning.

“To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility. You ask, “How might we achieve these goals?” I answer, “By gaining a true perspective of who we really are!” We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created.” ~Thomas S. Monson

This is just a quick post to honor and remember the Father of us all, who created us, and with every fiber of His being, wants us to become like Him……fulfilling the capacity and purpose of our creation……with GREATNESS!

Have you ever met a person who worries about everything? No matter where they are or what they’re doing, they’re always worried, concerned, stressed or mad about something. Yet, there are also people who are just the opposite…people who never worry, get concerned, stress and rarely get mad no matter what the situation is. What is it about the people that stress that causes them to stress so often and so much? How can one person, surrounded by chaos, stay calm, content and optimistic while the another lose all control?

Do you all remember the last time you watched Zorro? The Zorro I am speaking of is “The Mask of Zorro” that came out in 1998 with Antonio Banderas, Antony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. As the movie starts out, Alejandro Murrieta (Antonio Banderas) is an out of control, drunken convict who is consumed by his hatred towards his brothers killer, Captain Harrison Love. As the current Zorro (Anthony Hopkins) observes Alejandro, he shows him how obsessed and reckless he truly is. Even though his passion for revenge fueled him, he had not learned control and would never succeed unless he learned how to control his anger and his surroundings.

He was later introduced to the “Training Circle.” In the words of Anthony Hopkins, “This is called a training circle, a master’s wheel. This circle will be your world, your whole life. Until I tell you otherwise, there is nothing outside of it.” Alejandro’s progress depended directly on how well he could learn to master only the things within his circle. At first, it was a large circle with obstacles, ropes and at times, Zorro in it. “As your skill with the sword improves, you will progress to a smaller circle. With each new circle, your world contracts, bringing you ………..that much closer to retribution.”

As Alejandro improved in his skills, that circle began to shrink and one might begin to think, shouldn’t the circle get bigger as his skill increased. The more skill the more he would be able to handle, right? Wrong! If you are thinking that way, you are missing the entire point. The more skill, the smaller the circle. The more you learn to control only that which is in the circle, the more control you truly have. The less you have in your circle, the better, because you know you have absolute control of whatever enters your circle. The larger the circle, the less control you have as you have more in it.

Zorro’s Circle

So you wonder why so many people walk around stressed out, angry and constantly worried?! It’s because they try too much to control things that are outside their circle of control. All we can do is control our little training circle. For some, that circle is still very large because of lack of skill. As their skill increases, they will learn to stick to their circle of control, and thus, increase in control overall.

Can I control how you react to this article? Can I control whether or not you send me spam comments, talk bad about my site or give me complete praise? No. But what I can control is all that is within my circle. I can control if that spam comment is approved and whether it will upset me or not. I can control how I receive things and whether or not I will allow it to enter into my circle. If I allow it, my circle increases in size and as a result, I loose a bit of control.

As we increase in skill, in mindset, we stop worrying about all the things you have no control over. And as we do, we start dominating the things we do have control over and get really good at maintaining the Godly trait of temperance.

Pick your own battles…better yet, pick the ones you know you can control and win. And the ones you can win are the ones within your own Zorro’s circle. This is the entire secret to self-mastery. Can you control everything within a foot of your being. And yes, this includes the space in between your own ears. If you’re looking to lose weight, can you resist that doughnut or soda and can you discipline, instead of just motivate yourself to take that jog? When it all comes down to it, you allow that doughnut to enter or not enter your circle of control. You allow those thoughts of laziness to enter or not enter your mind, which is the center of the circle.

Self mastery! We are all very good about disallowing annoying or stinky people from entering our so called “bubble.” Yet we allow so much more to enter that is even more damaging and more harmful to our progress and happiness. As we learn to control what we know we can control, we master our circle, and in doing so will find the secret to a long, happy and fulfilling life!

Alright everyone, if you have noticed in the right hand sidebar of this blog, I have a way for you all to subscribe to a daily dose of empowerment delivered to your inbox. These quotes are all hand selected by yours truly. They come from various locations around the web and all have provided an added level of inspiration to my life. Thus, I am sharing them with all of you.

If you are a quotes junkie, like me, here are a few more places in addition to mine….let me reemphasize, in addition to mine! I’ll give you two of my favorite sites to visit and subscribe to. One is a site based on true values and can be found at Values.com. The other is a site devoted to personal growth and is found at MorningCoach.com.

To subscribe to Daily Empowering Quotes, you can either fill out the form in the right hand sidebar or click on “Daily Empowering Quotes.

More quotes lists coming in the future. One of which will be Inspirational Movie Quotes!